Schedule of the Event

Once again Wood From Finland Conference offers a quality program with first class Key Note speakers.

Host of the seminar day is Anniina Kostilainen, Forest and Environment Manager, Finnish Sawmills Association.

Program is subject to change.

Day 1 – Wednesday Feb, 5

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10:00 – 12:00

Nordica, 2nd floor

Sponsor lunch

Event for sponsors only

Key Note Speakers

TBA

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18:00pm – 19:30pm

FOYER LOBBY

Welcome Cocktails

Networking event, DJ

Day 2 – Thursday Feb, 6

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8:00 - 9:00

Scandic marina congress center

Registration

 

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9:00 - 9:05

Europaea, 1st floor

Welcome

Tino Aalto, Managing Director, Finnish Sawmills Association

Speaker info
Tino Aalto is Managing Director of Finnish Sawmills Association. Aalto took over as Managing Director of the Sawmill Industry from the position of Special Advisor to the Minister of Transport and Communications. Before that he has worked as a Special Advisor to the Minister of European Affairs and Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. Previously, Aalto has worked in the Technology Industries of Finland, as the head of innovation policy and CEO’s advisor. He has also worked in Design and Consulting Firms Association and consulting house Miltton.
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9:05 - 9:25

Europaea, 1st floor

Opening

Antti Häkkänen, Minister of Defence

Speaker info

Antti Häkkänen has served as Minister of Defence in Petteri Orpo’s Government since 20 June 2023.

Häkkänen, born in Mäntyharju in 1985, graduated with a Master of Laws degree from the University of Helsinki in 2014. He has been a Member of Parliament representing the National Coalition Party, elected in the electoral district of Southeast Finland, continuously since 2015. He has been a member of Mäntyharju Local Council since 2009.

Häkkänen has served as Minister of Justice from 5 May 2017 to 5 June 2019. In Parliament, his previous responsibilities include chairing the Defence Committee and being a member of the Finance Committee, the Education and Culture Committee, the Constitutional Law Committee and the Administration Committee. 

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9:25 - 9:50

Europaea, 1st floor

Global Economic Outlook

Tuuli Koivu, Chief Economist, Nordea

Speaker info
I am a passionate follower of the world economy. I never get bored when analyzing the complex relationships between monetary policy, financial sector and economic growth. At Nordea, I concentrate on monitoring developments in the Euro area and the ECB monetary policy. I hold a PhD in Economics and I have a long background studying both advanced and emerging economies at the Bank of Finland and the European Central Bank. I have a deep interest on the Chinese economy on which I did research for almost a decade. More recently, I used to work on the banking sector regulation and its impacts on the real economy. When not at Nordea, I spend time with my family and friends – preferably in a beautiful forest with a map and a compass.
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9:50 - 10:15

Europaea, 1st floor

Flows and supply of coniferous sawn timber and logs

Glen O’Kelly, Director, O’Kelly Acumen

Speaker info
Glen has worked with the forest industries globally for 25 years, across the full value chain from forestry to wood products, pulp and paper, and bioenergy – on topics ranging from markets, strategy, procurement, and manufacturing. His experience includes forest management roles in New Zealand and Sweden, and business consulting with McKinsey & Company for 17 years where he served executive-level clients in leading forestry and forest products companies globally. For many years, he led McKinsey’s global Paper & Forest Products research and expert team. Since 2021, Glen leads O’Kelly Acumen, a new business providing distinctive market intelligence and consulting services to clients worldwide.
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10:15 - 10:45

LOBBY, 1st & 2nd floor

Coffee Break

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10:45 - 11:10

Europaea, 1st floor

EUDR – Implementation

Anniina Kostilainen, Forest and Environment Manager, Finnish Sawmills Association

Speaker info
Anniina Kostilainen works at the Finnish Sawmill Association as a Forest and Environment Manager dealing with policies and development projects related to forest management, biodiversity, climate and sustainability.
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11:10 - 11:35

Europaea, 1st floor

Wood construction in France and how to develop it

Benjamin Bodet, CEO, ISB Group

Speaker info
  Benjamin Bodet is the Managing Director of ISB Group, french key player in wood solutions, both an industrial manufacturer and a trader in wood materials and products. Engineer in Wood Sciences and Technology, he spent 18 years working on wood, timber construction and its development within the SCA group, of which he became managing director in France. He joined ISB in 2019 to lead the group and accelerate its growth. A crucial moment in France, where wood is becoming one of the main solutions to the regulatory constraints on carbon. Benjamin thus traces a new route for ISB: simplifying wood solutions to accelerate the massification of wood construction in France.

 

 

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11:35 - 12:00

Europaea, 1st floor

ESG a strategic choice and a reporting exercise

Terhi Koipijärvi, Senior Advisor, Sustainability & Strategy, Miltton

Speaker info

Terhi is a forerunner in strategic corporate responsibility, with over 30 years of extensive global experience in expert and leadership positions in the forest sector. She joined Miltton, advisor and consulting company, from Metsähallitus, where she worked as Director of Communications, Strategy & Responsibility. Prior to Metsähallitus, she has held corporate responsibility leadership positions at, for example, Stora Enso and Metsä Group. Terhi is a board member of the listed companies Metso and Ponsse, and East Africa’s largest forest company Green Resources, as well as the chairperson of the FIBS (Finnish Business & Society) board. She has a master’s degree in forestry & forest products marketing (University of Helsinki).

Terhi has extensive expertise in developing strategic sustainability and green transition, ample experience in M&As and investments, and implementing sustainability as a part of change management. She is no stranger to demanding stakeholder cooperation in a global operating environment.

Terhi’s views can also be found in e.g. the book ”Corporate Responsibility 2.0 – A New Normal of Leadership”, which she wrote together with Sari Kuvaja.

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12:00 - 13:00

restaurant marine 2nd floor

Lunch

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13:00 - 13:25

Europaea, 1st floor

Geopolitical outlook

Risto EJ Penttilä, CEO, Nordic West Office

Speaker info

Risto E. J. Penttilä is a policy expert, former member of the Finnish parliament, Secretary General of European Business Leaders’ Convention, former Director of the Finnish Business and Policy Forum (EVA) and current CEO of the first pan-Nordic think tank Nordic West Office.

Dr Penttilä has a PhD from Oxford University. He has published several books on international relations, business and economy and contributes regularly to publications such as The Financial Times.

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13:25 - 13:45

Europaea, 1st floor

MENA Market Outlook

Amir Rashad, CEO & Founder, Timber Exchange

Speaker info

Amir Rashad, a former physical commodity trader and supply chain manager, is at the forefront of driving digitization and enhancing market transparency within global commodity supply chains. As the CEO and Founder of Timber Exchange, Amir has successfully transformed the company into a leading and modern partner for sawmills and traders. Through Timber Exchange, he has streamlined high-volume cargo flows and automated many traditional manual processes, greatly improving efficiency across the industry.

Beyond his role at Timber Exchange, Amir serves as the editor of the highly regarded Essential Timber Market News, a weekly newsletter that provides curated insights on key developments affecting the global timber market. He is also the host of the Timber & Technology Podcast, where he regularly interviews market leaders on market trends and technological advancements. To learn more about Timber Exchange and its groundbreaking solutions, visit www.timber.exchange

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13:45 - 14:00

Europaea, 1st floor

China Market Outlook

Tong Chen, General Manager, Suifenhe Friendshipwood Group

Speaker info

Cece is from Suifenhe, a border town in Heilongjiang, China, where the location offers her family business significant opportunities for international trade. She holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from Newcastle University in the UK and a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature from Hong Kong Baptist University, graduating in 2022. She has worked in the forestry industry for ten years, visiting most of the supplier countries. Her work spans from forests to sawmills and end-consumer markets, covering regions from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. Her ongoing education has provided her with diverse perspectives, enabling her to analyze the development and challenges in the Chinese market more objectively. Cece is actively involved in managing her family’s business, applying her academic insights to drive growth and adaptability in the industry. She is now living between St Arnaud, New Zealand, and Shanghai, China.

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14:00 - 14:15

Europaea, 1st floor

North America Market Outlook

Paul F. Jannke, Principal, Lumber, FEA

Speaker info
Paul Jannke is a founder and Principal of Forest Economic Advisors LLC, with a main area of expertise in North American lumber markets. Having spent 30 years analyzing lumber markets and providing reliable, insightful forecasts, Paul is the industry’s top economic analyst. Beyond North American lumber, Paul has co-authored numerous studies on the international lumber and engineered lumber, timber, bioenergy, and panel industries. Paul holds a master’s degree in economics from Boston University and bachelor’s degrees in economics and German from the University of Connecticut. Prior to starting his career in the forest products industry, Paul was a research economist at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, specializing in econometric modeling.
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14:15 - 14:45

LOBBY, 1st & 2nd floor

Coffee Break

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14:45 - 15:00

Europaea, 1st floor

UK Market Outlook

Stephen Sabine, Senior Consultant, JAM Timber Consulting

Speaker info
Stephen has 40 years experience in the timber Industry covering managerial, director and ownership roles. Working mainly for Consolidated Timber Holdings and their associated companies, where he joined the board in 2015, completed an MBO with partners in 2017 and resold to Private Equity in 2021. He worked in his native New Zealand for Carter Holt Harvey and also for Finnforest/Metsa for some years. Today Stephen has his own consultancy business, JAM Timber Consulting, advising producers, importers, distributors, merchants, timber frame builders and architects. He is also a partner at Forest Economic Advisors LLC in the US where he writes for their Wood Markets Monthly publication. He currently sits on the National Softwood Division (NSD) committee of Timber Development UK (TDUK) In his spare time he enjoys burning petrol and cold water swimming…….but not together!
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15:00 - 15:15

Europaea, 1st floor

Estonian Market Outlook

Henrik Välja, Managing Director, Estonian Forest and Wood Industries Association

Speaker info
Henrik has been working as the Managing Director of Estonian Forest and Wood Industries Association (EFWA) since 2016. EFWA represents companies with activities ranging from forest management to mechanical wood processing all through the value chain. Prior to EFWA Henrik has worked with wood house factories and Puuinfo Estonia promoting wood in construction. Henrik has studied wood construction and economics.
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15:15 - 15:30

Europaea, 1st floor

Germany Market Outlook

Carsten Merforth, COO Wood Products, Mercer Europe GmbH

Speaker info
Dr. Carsten Merforth is Chief Operating Officer Wood Products at Mercer International Inc. in Vancouver. He holds a degree in forestry from the University of Göttingen and a doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) from the University of Freiburg.
He has held management positions in the sawmill and timber industry for 25 years, including managing director positions in Germany, Latvia and Slovakia.
He has been with Mercer since 2017 and, as COO for solid wood products, is responsible for the Saalburg-Ebersdorf/Thuringia and Torgau/Saxony sites in Germany. Both sites process around 2.5 million cubic meters of softwood into sawn timber products, construction timber, planed goods and pallets.
He is a member of the board of DeSH, Deutsche Säge- und Holzindustrie Bundesverband e. V. and vice president of HDH, Hauptverband der Deutschen Holzindustrie und Kunststoffe verarbeitenden Industrie and a member of the board of EOS.
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15:30 - 16:00

Europaea, 1st floor

Finland Market Outlook and Closing of the Event

Matti Kylävainio, Chairman of the Board, Finnish Sawmills Association

Speaker info
Matti Kylävainio is one of the owners of Keitele Group and the CEO of sawmill company Keitele Timber. Kylävainio holds a Master of Science in Economics and has worked in the international sawn timber and further processed products trade on four decades. Matti Kylävainio has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Finnish Sawmill Industry Association for several years and has been the Chairman of the Board since 2023.
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18:00 - 23:30

FEnnia I-II, 2nd floor

Dinner

 

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